18 Cuban Collar Shirts To Keep You Cool All Summer Long (In More Ways Than One)

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Here's the first thing to tick off your summer shopping list: the Cuban-collar shirt. While the silhouette is nothing new, its reputation until recently was more "golf dad sporting a hula-dancer print on the Atlantic City boardwalk" and less "summer wardrobe must-have." Thankfully the shirt has had a stylish resurgence in recent years, and it's all I want to wear any time the mercury climbs above 80°F.

Call it what you want (camp shirt, revere collar, bowling shirt, vacation shirt, I could go on...), all roads lead to its spiritual predecessor—the guayabera. (Which, just so you know, is a traditional piece of menswear in Latin America and the Caribbean. According to folklore, it originated when a Cuban man asked his wife to create a shirt with multiple pockets to store his belongings while working.

The shirt is distinguished by four front pockets, two vertical stripes of pleating or embroidery, and most notably, an open collar.) Unlike the collar of an oxford shirt, a Cuban collar has almost no structure, and is designed to be worn with at least one button undone so you get maximal airflow. The style made its way stateside in the 1950s, and has been a lightweight, warm-season staple of casual dressing ever since.

Since it's so summery, the Cuban-collar shirt has previously been lumped in with anything floral or featuring a hula dancer. We're not hating, but it's time to move on. This summer, opt instead for big, bold patterns, asymmetrical designs, and lean into embroidery, pockets, and textured fabrics inspired by the OG guayabera. Here are our picks to get your wardrobe one step closer to peak summertime cool.

Linen Guayabera

Behold the linen guayabera, complete with traditional double-chest and double-hip pockets. It comes in plenty of colorways, and you can't go wrong with any of them.

Riviera Cabana Shirt

This beauty from Bonobos is a classic take on the 1950s American version of the Cuban collar. It's loose, lightly textured, boxy, and comes in a range of summery colors and patterns.

Airing Easy Camp Collar Shirt

Lululemon has a mastered the art of making casual silhouettes with technical fabrics. At first glance, this looks like your standard relaxed cotton button-down. Upon further inspection, it's actually made of a moisture-wicking, four-way stretch, and aerated performance fabric. It comes in three cool-toned solid colors but we couldn't resist the tie dye, which disguises the technical fabrication even more.

Monkey Business Shirt

Tombolo does a Cuban collar shirt like no other, with splashy, fun designs that will garner you several "Where did you get that?"s. This one is a perfectly neutral cream and beige, so you can pair with just about any pants or shorts and be on your way.

Irish Linen Camp Collar Shirt

Cool and crisp, this Irish linen shirt is effortlessly stylish, with a fabric thin enough to withstand the harshest heat of summer.

GG Cotton Shirt with Web

No one knows how to have fun like Gucci does. This monogrammed and striped cotton shirt has the House's codes scrawled all over it, and you know what? If anything could make us turn out backs on the "understated" part of "understated luxury," it's a shirt like this.

Short Sleeve Cream Botanical Shirt

We love a floral motif as much as the next guy, but sometimes clean and modern is the way to go. Enter this stunner from Ted Baker—a crisp, cool button-down in collab with the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, complete with not-too-many floral details.

Castelleto Linen Resort Shirt

Given their relaxed nature, Cuban collar shirts aren’t the easiest style to look elegant and polished in, but if anyone does it right, its Banana Republic. This clean, minimalist linen shirt looks handsome with a few of the top buttons undone to show off that summer tan.

Stretch Selvage Embroidered Resort Shirt

I'm a firm believer that embroidery is the best way to elevate any garment, so feel free to sweat in this shirt and rough it up a little—you'll still look damn good.

Amalfi Coast Short Sleeve Camp Collar Shirt

If a beachy look is your vibe, look no further than Todd Snyder. It has fun with an all-over print that'll make you wish you were in Amalfi (bonus points if you actually are).

Double Match Short-Sleeved Heavy Cotton Shirt

What’s more fun than a Cuban collar shirt? A Cuban collar shirt with two graphics. Prada takes luxury to the next level with this ultra-cool cotton style, made for the bold and the brave.

Casual Button Down Shirt

For only 25 bucks, Amazon has a textured, chic Cuban shirt from PJ Paul Jones that can be at your doorstep in a day. Pair this with swim trunks, khakis, or jeans.

Cuban Shirt

Percival excels in making anything-but-basic wardrobe basics, and this shirt is no exception. The seersucker fabric is breathable and lightweight, and that chest pocket is all-too convenient for stashing your sunglasses.

Relaxed Linen Short-Sleeve Shirt

The dual, square-cut chest pockets are a nice touch. The 100 percent linen fabrication, ensuring this shirt is impressively breathable on even the hottest days, is even better.

Printed Short Sleeved Shirt

Hawaiian print, meet Cuban collar. This is the ultimate power combination for laidback summer vibes.

Venice Revere Collar Ramskull Shirt

Sometimes, simple is better. Think of all the ways you can style this solid shirt: open and with a tank under, buttoned and with pleated pants, or with jeans and loafers, or with shorts and boat shoes.

Classic Fit Hoffman Print Camp Shirt

If you like a loud, cool, all-over graphic, this PRL choice is the one for you. Pair it with a necklace and your favorite sunnies.

Cross Print Camp Shirt

A geometric pattern is always infallible. This shirt is effortlessly cool, and in shades of black and cream, it's ready to be paired with pretty much anything you can pull out of your wardrobe.

Why You Can Trust Esquire

We’re not going to say something is great unless it’s actually great. Every product in Esquire’s round-ups is carefully curated by our fashion and e-commerce teams.

When it comes to Cuban collar shirts, you can rest assured that we’re hand-selecting styles that we’ve personally tested, tried, and loved, along with styles that the rest of our stylish colleagues here at Esquire endorse for their own wear. We’ve had to go through a lot of trial and error, and these Cuban collar shirts are the ones that are simply the best.

Every pick on this list (and our other lists!) comes from years of wearing different things, seeing what we love and what we don’t, and going from there. No two tastes are the same, and no two men are the same. Your proverbial mileage may vary. But if you’re looking for the right place to start, with advice from folks who and care (possibly too much!) about this sort of stuff, this is the place to be.

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